PHOTO GALLERY // His Eminence Antonie, new Metropolitan of Bessarabia enthroned during solemn ceremony

The new Metropolitan of Bessarabia, His Eminence Antonie, was enthroned today in the office of Archbishop of Chișinău, Metropolitan of Bessarabia and Exarch of the Lands.

The event began with the celebration of the Divine Liturgy, and after the conclusion of the service the enthronement of the new Metropolitan of Bessarabia took place. The service was celebrated by His Eminence Teofan, Archbishop of Iași and Metropolitan of Moldavia and Bukovina, together with hierarchs and clergy of the Romanian Orthodox Church. His Eminence Antonie was elected to the office of Metropolitan of Bessarabia by the Holy Synod of the Romanian Orthodox Church on 2 July of this year. He was born on 29 May 1963 in the village of Hârbovăț, Anenii Noi district. He graduated from the Faculty of Medicine and Pharmacy in Chișinău, after which he continued his studies at the “Dumitru Stăniloae” Orthodox Faculty of Theology in Iași. He has been serving within the Metropolis of Bessarabia since 1995. In 2014, the Holy Synod of the Romanian Orthodox Church elected him Auxiliary Bishop of the Archdiocese of Chișinău, with the title of Bishop of Orhei, and his episcopal consecration took place on 24 May 2014 at the Patriarchal Cathedral in Bucharest. Four years later, on 24 May 2018, he was elected Bishop of Bălți, a position he held until his election as Metropolitan of Bessarabia.